February 11, 2014
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner – Reports A-2014-003 and A-2014-004 Released
The Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ed Ring, has released his Reports A-2014-003 and A-2014-004 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA). Summaries of these Reports are included below.
In conjunction with these Reports, Commissioner Ring wishes to issue the following comments in relation to the issue he raised in a news release on January 8, 2013. As of that date, Commissioner Ring noted that there were 12 active files under review by his Office involving complaints from individuals that a public body had failed to respond to access to information requests within the time limits prescribed by law in the ATIPPA. The Commissioner noted that this was an all-time high for complaints about failure to comply with mandatory time limits, and he was concerned that this had become a trend. In his news release just over one year ago, the Commissioner called on public bodies to remind them of their responsibilities under the ATIPPA. The Commissioner also had discussions with senior officials responsible for the ATIPPA within government, and asked that timely responses to access to information requests be made a high priority item. The Commissioner noted at the time that he would monitor the situation and comment further if warranted.
The Reports issued today are the final Reports stemming from the active files which had accumulated up to the date of last year’s news release regarding the issue of failure to meet legislated time lines. While the Office still has many active reviews ongoing, Commissioner Ring believes that the issue of failure of public bodies to meet time lines has been appropriately addressed: “As soon as I made it known to government that this had become an issue, quick action was taken within departments and agencies to emphasize that the appropriate timelines had to be met. I have received no further complaints about late responses to access requests since then, and I thank government for being responsive on this issue.”
To view these Reports in their entirety, please go to www.oipc.nl.ca/accessreports.htm.
Report: A-2014-003
Report Date: February 6, 2014
Public Body: Department of Finance
| Summary: | The Applicant made nine access to information requests to the Department of Finance (the “Department”) on August 6, 2012. While there was some initial correspondence from the Department, many communications were initiated by the Applicant requesting updates about the status of the access requests. The records were finally received four to six months after the initial access requests were made. The Commissioner found that the Department did not comply with the mandatory time period set out in section 11 of the ATIPPA and the Department failed to fulfill the duty to assist under section 9 of the ATIPPA. Furthermore, the Department did not avail of provisions under the ATIPPA that might have helped it in meeting the time limit under the ATIPPA. As the Department had already implemented a new system for responding to access requests, the Commissioner recommended that the Department review and assess the new system and provide an update regarding how this new system has been working. |
Report: A-2014-004
Report Date: February 6, 2014
Public Body: Department of Advanced Education and Skills
| Summary: | The Applicant requested from the Department of Advanced Education and Skills (the “Department”) copies of all funding proposals submitted to the Department from any organization from Bell Island and for details of any approved funding. The Department did not respond to the access request within the extended time period and did not respond until nearly four months after receiving the access request. The Commissioner found that the Department did not comply with the mandatory time period set out in section 11 of the ATIPPA and the Department failed to fulfill the duty to assist imposed on it by section 9 of the ATIPPA. The Commissioner made recommendations to the Department to improve its access to information process and to prevent late responses to access requests. |
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Media contact:
Ed Ring
Information and Privacy Commissioner
709-729-6309
2014 02 11 10:00 a.m.